Better off Undead

Chapter 28: Creatures of the Night

Down in the dormitory, people were settling down for the night. Farm work was hard, exhausting work, and already some had collapsed onto their beds, fast asleep fully dressed and covered in the dirt and grime of the day's efforts. Marshall was in the bathroom area, having just stepped out of the shower. He was drying his hair and staring into a mirror at the thick beard developing on his chin.

There was a sudden burst of static that indicated the radio was coming to life.

"Bravo, Bravo, Alpha one-niner. This is Nest Eagle calling home base. Come in home base."

Marshall let out a groan that seemed to rumble up from deep inside him as he reached for the walkie-talkie. "What do you want, Eli?" He snapped.

"Marshall, you better get up here. And, um, turn off all the lights. And tell everyone to be very, very, quiet."

A chill rolled down Marshall's spine. "Why?" he demanded. "What's going on?"

"I'm serious Marshall. Just please, please trust me on this one. You're going to want to do what I ask. And hurry."

The large man swore under his breath and bolted from the room. He was going so fast he almost crashed onto Daniel.

"Woah! Where's the fire?"

"Turn out the lights," Marshall snapped. "And get everyone to be as quiet as possible. And wait here!" This last sentence he called over his shoulder, as he was already running out the door. He stopped briefly at the girl's dorm to tell them the same, but Amber and Aliyah were coming out the door when he got there. "We got it," Amber said simply.

"Good, stay inside." Marshall commanded.

"Fat chance." Aliyah responded, gripping the hilt of her machete. Marshall decided he did not want to argue with a woman wielding a machete. He ran on, instead.

In the darkness, he almost did not see the ladder for the guard tower until he was upon it. Climbing it was oddly difficult without being able to see more than a rung or two ahead. After a moment, the clouds above their heads parted, casting silvery moonlight across the metal bars allowing him to climb faster.

When he reached the top he burst through the door and into the room. Eli was standing, leaning against the console, looking through binoculars at the tree line across the street from the base. He barely glanced at them as they entered.

"Okay, Eli, what the hell is so important?"

Eli finally stepped back and held out the binoculars. "Take a look for yourself." Eli made room for Marshall as the older man grabbed the binoculars and took up the lookout position. "Sorry, I only have one pair of binoculars. I did only invite one person up here though." Amber shot Eli a vicious look. He coughed and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "However, you can basically see it all well enough with just your eyes. Just take a look out along the tree line."

Amber and Aliyah lined up next to Marshall and peered out. At first, Amber saw nothing, and then after a moment she saw what looked like movement. She thought it might just be her eyes playing tricks on her.

Then, finally, she got it.

What had looked like nothing more than swaying branches in the wind was actually bodies – thousands of bodies – moving among the shadows of the forest.

"Undead?" Marshall asked without looking away.

"Yup," Eli declared. "The Big Zed."

Everyone turned to look at him.